The Keeper: Part 2
While trying to steal the Keeper’s ship, Doctor Smith has mistakenly caused all the captive animals to escape. Smith is frightened by the animals and runs back to the Jupiter 2, where he orders the Robot to erase the incident from his memory banks. The next day, John and Don encounter some of the more dangerous animals and must fight them away. They are confused as to why the Keeper would have set his animals lose, and Don suspects Smith probably caused the incident. The Keeper comes to the Jupiter 2 in a very angry mood. He knows someone released all his animals and is determined to discover who it was. It quickly becomes clear who the guilty party was, and the Keeper demands the Robinsons pay for what has happened. He informs the Robinsons that many of his specimens have been killed, and that he plans to take Penny and Will as compensation! When John and Maureen refuse to go along with this, the Keeper tells them that until the children are delivered to him, he will not recapture his animals. With so many dangerous creatures running lose on the planet, the Robinsons’ lives will be in danger at all times and they stand little chance of survival. The Keeper delivers this ultimatum, and then goes back to his spaceship... but not before he orders Doctor Smith to come visit him that night. When Smith does so, the Keeper demands he help secure the delivery of Will and Penny, or else Smith will be fed to a horrible monster. Smith is terrified and agrees. Back at the Jupiter 2, Judy and Don decide to offer themselves to the Keeper in Will and Penny’s place. John and Maureen also have the same idea, and all four end up at the Keeper’s ship. The Keeper considers it a noble gesture, but refuses them, saying he only wants the children and no one else will do. The Robinsons leave his ship, and seconds after they go, the terrible monster attacks and injures the Keeper. Meanwhile, Doctor Smith talks the children into giving themselves up to help save their family. Smith begins to walk them over to the Keeper’s ship, but Don intervenes halfway there. John and Maureen arrive at the Jupiter 2 and see that Will and Penny are missing, and are very concerned that they may be lost outside and in danger from all the loose animals. Maureen goes back to the Keeper’s ship and finds him hurt. She helps him, and the Keeper is touched and surprised by her show of compassion. Maureen informs the Keeper that the children are lost outside and he too is worried for their safety. The Keeper begins to call back his animals just in time to save Don, Will and Penny from a very aggressive giant spider. The next day, the Robinsons awake to discover that the Keeper has collected all his animals back onto his ship. He appears to inform them that he has decided to leave, but intends to leave one rotten animal behind to punish them. Luckily for them, the rotten animal turns out to be Doctor Smith! Background informatiom *Although the first part of this story uses an arabic number, the second uses a Roman number in the title. *Along with "Return from Outer Space" and "The Keeper, Part 1", this is one of Bill Mumy's three favorite episodes. *The scenes with the giant spider and Professor Robinson attempting to blast it with rifle and grenades were judged too terrifying in the original release and partially cut! The giant spider prop had been seen in an episode of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (TV show). *The cage which the Keeper leaves Dr Smith in at the end of this episode is kept by the Robinsons and-in a great example of continuity- used later to try and trap the invisible Bog Monster in 'The Space Creature'. (This is one of the few example where the show doesn't pull strange equipment out of thin air- despite it being sorely needed in some episodes by the Robinsons! Case in point- the Space Pod). *Instead of trying to trick Will and Penny, why didn’t Doctor Smith simply inform the Robinsons that the Keeper had threatened his life? Surely they would have protected him. Category:Episodes Category:Episodes in Season One